London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

UK Labour politician slams rival Lib Dem for suggesting she was partly responsible for Grenfell Fire

UK Labour politician slams rival Lib Dem for suggesting she was partly responsible for Grenfell Fire

Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Kensington, the west London constituency that includes Grenfell Tower, has hit back at her Liberal Democrat opponent after he suggested she was partially responsible for the tragic 2017 fire.

Lib Dem Sam Gyimah, who is contesting the seat held by Labour’s Emma Dent Coad at the snap UK general election on December 12, was giving his views on phase one of the Grenfell fire report, which was published in October.

In an interview with the Independent, Gyimah, noting that the assessment revealed many things that went wrong on the night that saw 72 people killed in June 2017, singled out Dent Coad for not stopping the flammable cladding from being given the green light for use on the building.

The remarks drew an angry response from Dent Coad who branded them “absolutely sickening."

The Labour politician, who had only been narrowly elected just days before the fire, accused Gyimah of trying to “shift the blame for the horror of Grenfell away from austerity” imposed by the coalition of his former and current parties, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

The socialist took to social media on Tuesday to troll Gyimah, writing, “#factsaregood” and pointing out that she left Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) in 2012 and that “decisions on cladding” were made by Conservative councillors in September 2014.


Dent Coad has insisted that Labour councillors in Kensington and Chelsea “repeatedly raised concerns” about the cuts made by the Tory-controlled council which ignored warnings from Grenfell residents who said that “this was a tragedy waiting to happen.”

Gyimah defected to the Liberal Democrats in September after becoming fed up with the direction of the Conservatives under Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his drive to deliver Brexit at any cost. Dent Coad, who is defending a slim majority of just 20, will be hoping to fend off Gyimah, who will be trying to garner as much of the pro-EU ‘Remain’ vote as possible.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
×